PREFACE xvii 



from the ground, is heard, and a run is made by the 

 tamer creatures to their mistress for some food ; the wilder 

 ones sit up and listen, and some draw near to pick up such 

 part of the fare as may be carried by others to a little distance. 

 To me all this is very beautiful ; and I feel, and am happy 

 in the idea, that when the muscle and lithe o' limb have 

 left me, and age comes on, I can sit among Heaven's creatures 

 in passive admiration, and pursue my favourite study, which, to 

 my mind, never palls the study of animate and inanimate 

 nature. 



In writing these Reminiscences, and in summing up 

 the list of the laughing, joyous, and agreeable men who 

 have shared in the merriest scenes of my life, alas, what 

 blanks appear ! What numbers have been swept from 

 the busy scene, who, to all appearance, were as likely to 

 have lived on as the friend who now regrets their loss ! In 

 the wide acquaintance I possessed, many an amusing error, 

 of course, has come under my observation ; but with these 

 I shall deal as lightly as possible. In the lifetime of 

 those who committed amusing errors, not serious ones, I 

 have spoken of them, laughed, and made others laugh; now 

 that the friends are gone, I will remember nothing but their 

 virtues, and only refer to ths past when the anecdote, at least, 

 is harmless. 



And now, under no fear of being deemed egotistic, as 

 some readers may wish to be acquainted with the sort of 

 appearance the author still wears, and his inclination and 

 capabilities, I will describe myself. My height, in my shoes, 

 is six feet two; without my shoes, in the measurement of 



